Last night the two major party candidates for governor of Virginia met in Blacksburg for the final debate of the 2013 campaign. During the hour-long debate, the two candidates contrasted on several issues, including on a question about compromise. Harry Wilson of Roanoke College asked the candidates how they know when to compromise and when to fight for their principles.

In his answer, Terry McAuliffe talked about compromising to support bipartisan transportation legislation and that Ken Cuccinelli has a rigid ideology when it comes to women’s health and equal rights. McAuliffe noted that Cuccinelli once described gay Virginians as “soulless human beings.”

“There’s somebody in this audience who might be gay or has a friend who’s gay, “ said McAuliffe. “You cannot grow and diversify our economy with this mean-spirited language.”

In his response to the question, Cuccinelli did not mention the LGBT community or respond to McAuliffe’s charge.

Cuccinelli has a long history of pushing an anti-LGBT agenda. While serving as Attorney General, Cuccinelli sent a letter to every college and university saying that they could provide no protections against discrimination based upon sexual orientation. Cuccinelli also stands firmly against marriage equality in Virginia, a right that 54 percent of state voters support.

HRC has been working hard to elect Terry McAuliffe for Governor and his ticket mates Ralph Northam for Lieutenant Governor and Mark Herring for Attorney General. There is such a stark choice in this election between candidates that will make Virginia a more welcoming place and candidates that will not stand up for equality.

To join us in ensuring the pro-equality ticket is elected on Tuesday, November 5th, please contact our Virginia State Director, Jamie Lockhart at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).